Bipartisan Congressional and Knesset Declaration Calls for Recognition of Israel as a Jewish State

(Washington D.C., Thursday, November 16, 2017) – An unprecedented joint declaration by Members of Congress and Knesset has laid out core principles for a new paradigm to end the Israel-Arab (“Palestinian”) conflict ahead of an expected new push for Middle East peace by President Trump.

The Declaration signed by members of the Congressional Israel Victory Caucus (CIVC) and the Knesset Israel Victory Caucus (KIVC) declares that “the primary obstacle to ending the Palestinian-Israeli conflict the near-century of Palestinian rejectionism of the right of self-determination for the Jewish People”, and that “only Palestinian acknowledgement of the Jewish People’s historic connection to the Land of Israel, and acceptance of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state, will end the conflict.”

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The declaration was signed on a visit by co-Chairman of the KIVC Oded Forer (Yisrael Beytenu) and Chairman of the Knesset Committee for Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Affairs Dr. Avraham Neguise (Likud) to Washington and New York where they met their counterparts in the CIVC, dozens of Congressmen from both sides of the aisle, other senior US decision-makers and opinion-shapers and Jewish and Christian leaders.

“Every attempt at negotiations with the Palestinians without demanding that they recognize Israel as the national homeland of the Jewish people will fail, ” MK Forer said. “Together with Members of Congress from both parties we call on the American Administration to demand from the Palestinians to recognize the State of Israel as the national homeland of the Jewish people as a precondition to future talks. There can be no negotiations on our legitimate right to self-determination.”

“When Mahmoud Abbas tries to sue the British government for the Balfour Declaration on its 100th anniversary it is obvious he is not interested in peace. If he intends to continue fighting we will defeat him again. Without Victory there can be no resolution to the conflict.”

“The central message that we have brought to the US is that the Palestinians need to move from rejectionism to recognition and we are delighted at the support we have received from our friends in Congress, both Republicans and Democrats, and we hope this is a message that will be taken on board by the Trump administration in any efforts or initiatives it pushes forward in the months ahead,” said MK Neguise.

The CIVC has over 30 Members of Congress from both the Republican and Democratic parties and is co-chaired by Reps. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), Juan Vargas (D-CA) and Bill Johnson (R-OH), and the KIVC has 16 Members of Knesset from every mainstream Zionist party from both the Government and the Opposition and is co-Chaired by Yaakov Perry (Yesh Atid).

“It has been an honor to meet with the Israeli members of the (Knesset) Israel Victory Caucus this week and discuss the cherished friendship between our two nations,” Rep DeSantis said. “We agree that the greatest obstacle to peace is the refusal of Palestinians to acknowledge that Israel is the legitimate national home of the Jewish People.”

“I’m looking forward to working with our allies in the Knesset to advance the idea of an Israeli victory as an alternative approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict – one where Israel stops making unnecessary concessions and instead the Palestinians concede their goal of destroying Israel and accept that the State of Israel is here to stay,” Rep Johnson said. “There can be no progress made towards peace until the Palestinians accept that significant, but simple concept.”

The two caucuses were formed with the support of the Middle East Forum, led by Daniel Pipes, who launched the Israel Victory Project (IVP) earlier in the year.

“The Israel Victory Project is building political and intellectual support eventually to replace the current ‘peace process’ paradigm with one that will work better for both Israelis and Palestinians,” Pipes said.

The IVP works to change the narrative towards resolving the Israel-Arab conflict whereby the Arabs give up their century-long rejection of the Jewish state.